The New Nation of Demenstra
by derp derp
Summary: Four years have passed since Ed and Al disappeared from Amestris and wound up in Germany, our world. What happens when they are able to find their way back home, only to find it in ruins after years of war? Will they be able to save Amestris?
1. A Hopeful Feeling

_Chapter 1: A Hopeful Feeling_

It was cold tonight. Odd, considering it was still Summer time. He didn't understand the weather here, it took such a turn at the most random of times. Right now, he was laying awake, underneath the stars. His brother curled up beside him, sleeping softly like always. He glanced to the man, who was now reaching his twentieth birthday. He, twenty-one. Four years… four years since they had arrived to this planet.

Edward Elric sighed lightly, and reached a hand up in the air, his fingers outstretched, as if trying to grab the full moon that stood out against the dark sky, outlined with thousands of tiny stars. He wondered if, somewhere, she was looking at the moon too, her hand outstretched also. It would be amusing if she was…

Ever since they had parted all those years ago, she was the only thing he thought about on a regular basis, and he was constantly questioning if she was okay, how she was doing. Of course, these answers would never be known, because he was gone from there now and there was no way for him to return. As much as he hoped it was possible.

Another sigh escaped his pale lips, and his golden eyes closed for a moment or two, forcing himself to relax and forget about all of that. What was in the past was in the past, and he knew that he couldn't change it. Ed just wished he hadn't been so stupid… if it wasn't for him they wouldn't be in such mess.

"You can't keep blaming yourself, brother," A voice beside him whispered, and Ed opened his eyes to glance at his brother, Alphonse Elric, who was looking at him through half-lidded eyes. Al always worried about his brother, ever since they had been reunited, he hadn't been the same as before. Ed just smiled and ruffled the man's hair lightly. Al just gave him an annoyed look and lazily swatted his hand away in a playful manner. "You shouldn't blame yourself… it's not right… it's not good for you," He said with a soft smile.

Ed looked away from his brother and up at the sky, sitting himself up and resting his palms to the ground. "I know Al…" He said in a soft tone, eyes glazing over as he reminisced about what had happened six years ago. He had been away for two years before he was reunited with his brother. So much had happened in their life time, so much pain, anger, stress… there was little joy, and when that joy came, it had been ripped away before any of them had a chance to enjoy it.

Death… so much death, and suffering. But it was worth it, wasn't it? To live? Here? Ed had his doubts… he missed Amestris, and he knew Al missed it to. It was their home, and now… they had none. They had nothing but each other, and that was the way it was going to stay for a very long time, or do Ed thought as he sat himself up, hugging his knees to his chest and looking solemnly at the ground.

Watching his brother for a moment, Al blinked thoughtfully, before he closed his eyes and rolled over again, trying to get back to sleep. He worried about him… he really did.

It was a few hours later Al's eyes opened, only to find his brother asleep beside him, finally, which made Al breath out a sigh of relief, before he fell tense. There was a certain uneasiness in the air that he had breathed, which caused him to stiffen, golden eyes darting around the forest area; where they slept.

What was this feeling? It felt exactly how he felt when he had passed through the gate with his brother, and closed it up, causing them to be sealed here forever. He felt compelled to go to the place in which the gate was, once again and that frightened him. But, mind you, they were only a few miles away from where it sat, in Munich, Germany, the year being Nineteen Seventy-Two.

"Brother," Al spoke in a hushed, slightly urgent tone as he looked to his brother and rose a hand to nudge the man from his sleep. The blond twitched as he was slowly awakened, and grunted in protest, raising his arm to bat away the younger's hand, which recoiled when Al knew he had done his job. "Brother," Al said again, waiting until his brother sat up and faced his before he continued. "We need to go back to Munich," He said, his face held the serious, furrowed browed expression, whilst his only living relative cocked his eyebrow at him, eyes full of question. "Why?" He asked, hoping there was a pretty good reason for Al to wake him up after he hand FINALLY fallen asleep. And because they had just come from Munich to go to Luxembourg.

Al paused for a moment, not sure why, but he had the strangest feeling he had to keep the real reason for his request. "There's something I forgot to do," He said simply, which made Ed roll his eyes as if Al's forgetfulness was typical, which it was. Al just smiled nervously, watching as his brother stood up and stretched out his arms, yawning softly. "Okay then, let's get going," He sighed, reaching down to grab the bag he had used for a pillow and throwing it over his shoulder, setting off for Munich. Al scrambled up and grabbed his own bag, rushing off after his brother with a slight grin on his face.

The journey took two and a half hours on foot, in which the Elric brothers stayed silent the entire time, mostly because they were rather tired from lack of sleep. It was approximately three o'clock in the morning by the time they arrived, and the streets were completely deserted, which was good for them really, because had it been sunny, people would have seen them returning.

"Well, we're here," Ed said, looking around the empty streets with a blank expression before he cocked his head in Al's directions, a distracted and slightly uneasy look on his face. "Where was it you wanted to go?" he questioned, a little curious about his brother's expression, but he kept quiet about it.

Hesitating, the youngest Elric took in a small breath before he spoke in a sort of whisper, but one that Ed was able to catch. "The place… in which the gate is kept,"

Ed froze visibly, his eyes widened a little. "And why would you want to go there?" He asked, following a shame-faced Al; who had his head hung as he shuffled forward. "I have a strange feeling about it, I want to check it out again," Replied Al. Stopping in his tracks, Ed paused for a moment to look upon his brother, before he continued forward. "Al, you know we can't go back," He said sternly, a little annoyed his brother had brought up such a thing, especially since he tried to forget it. "I know," Came a simply reply from the boy, who kept his face hidden by his bangs of sandy hair. "I just… want to look… one more time before we go to Luxembourg,", Ed smiled sadly at his brother, putting his free hand in his pocket and following him to where he wanted to go.

After a short while (and a little bit of 'handy work' to get in to the place undetected) Ed and Al stood in the factory and gazed up at the ceiling, where the faint burn marks from the rockets still resided. It had been a while since they had been here, too afraid to come back when they first arrived together. It brought bad memories back, and so each time they found themselves in Munich, they avoided it like the plague.

"We… we don't belong here," Al spoke, looking to the remains of the chalk transmutation, that had been dusted away by footsteps from the people who still worked here in the factory, underneath the university. "I know… I know we don't Al…" Ed sighed in agreement with each other, hanging his head and kneeling down, his gloved hands grazed over the markings. "But… there is no way for us to go back… you know that," He continued and Al nodded his head, clenching his fists and looking back up. Never in the four years of him being here had he had such an urge to cry, maybe returning here was a bad idea…

It was then something caught his eye, on the ceiling. It was purple and glowing… and reminded Al somewhat of the glow that had come from the circle he had made back in Amestris to connect here. He blinked his eyes, shaking his head in an attempt to shrug off what he thought was an illusion. He _wanted_ to see something like that… but it was impossible now so there was no point. But the glow ceased to remove itself from his vision, instead slowly beginning to grow in size.

Something was up.

"B-Brother?" Al asked in a shaky voice, reaching a hand to point to the increasing mark of purple. "What is that?", Ed immediately looked up, as if hoping it was something interesting. And it was. His eyes widened a little and he stood, gazing to where his brother pointed. What _was_ that thing? "I-I don't know Al," He replied truthfully, taking a step closer and narrowing his eyes at the offending object, that was now growing in to a nice, big circle, decorated with lines and swirls that resembled… a transmutation circle.

"Could it be…?" Al trailed off and looked at his brother, who was staring at the huge thing in horror. "No, there's no way… is there?" He answered his own question, looking up.

Ed moved suddenly, which caused Al to snap his neck in the direction to what his brother was doing. Ed looked around the room frantically, trying to find something. "Brother? What is it?" Al asked, beginning to follow his brother around the room. "Four years ago… when the gate opened and you came here… before that something happened, something which shouldn't have," Ed said, opening up draws and rummaging through them. "When I first stumbled upon this, I cut my face on some broken glass, and I accidentally wiped some on the transmutation circle, which caused it to glow," He continued, throwing bits of paper around to find the thing he needed.

"Maybe… maybe if we complete the circle again, then maybe we can go… back, back home," He chocked out the last part as he found what he was looking for, and held it in the air in triumph. A simple stick of white chalk. Al just watched his brother in surprise. It had been a while since he had seen him so enthused about something. He stood a little further from his brother, just watching as the twenty-one year old began to sketch over the fading circle of chalk.

Once Ed was done, he sat back to admire his work, setting down the chalk and rolling up the sleeve of his left arm, looking down at the flesh before he bit his thumb tightly, hissing a little as his teeth broke the skin, and a trickle of crimson blood cascaded down the pad, which he held to the white markings hesitantly, his hand shaking a little from the nerves.

Both boys tensed a little as they waited, watching as a splash of blood crashed to the ground, and they waited to see that familiar blue glow.

Nothing.

Ed cursed to himself and sat back again, closing his eyes and tilted his head back. Damn it, he had been so sure, so hopeful that this would work. "Damn it!" He shouted out, smacking his fist to the ground angrily, shaking from frustration. Alphonse just looked at his brother, sadly, pitiful, biting his lip a little bit as his own hopes had been crushed by the absence of what they really wanted. He looked away and sighed, heartbroken.

But then, something caused him to look back again. The circle began to glow, that electric blue colour that he had wished to see so badly. "Brother!" He almost shouted, rushing over to the circle and looking down in disbelief. "Brother look! It's working!" The sound of his voice made Ed open his eyes slowly, disbelievingly, but they widened and he almost comically fell backwards, instead scrambling up and staring with his brother. "N-no way!" He said, glancing at Al, who glanced back and grinned.

As the shine intensified, Ed grabbed Al's arm and pulled him forward so both stood in the circle, eyes closing from the glare of the light and a rushing feeling began to pull them.

And then, everything went black.

_Authors Note:_

_Phew, quite an intense first chapter if I do say so myself! More to come though so keep an eye out. If you're a little confused, this should explain everything pretty simply, but if it doesn't answer your questions just ask, I'll do my best to answer._

_This story is based on the Anime, four years after Ed and Al wind up in our world, so everyone is much older. It is an idea I came up with for a role-play I did with a friend. _

_I couldn't for the live of me remember what the factory/university was called, so if you know that please let me know so I can add it in! Also I do not own Ed or Al or any of the other characters mentioned in the story, expect for a few. Enjoy, and don't forget to rate or review!_


	2. Welcome Home

_Chapter 2: Welcome Home_

When Ed was finally able to open his eyes, he instantly wished he hadn't. A surging pain filled his head and he groaned, his vision blurred. Was he dead? He sure felt like it. Closing his eyes for a moment, he listened out for anything. Nothing. Nothing at all. Now that was frightening. Finally brave enough to open his golden orbs, he blinked a few times to regain his vision, and found himself laying in dirt. Oh well at least he wasn't dead but… where exactly was he?

"Ow," He said, hurt, as he pushed himself up with his flesh arm, that was still naked; the brown jacket he had worn still rolled up. Reaching his other hand up, he rubbed his head and closed his eyes again for a moment or two so that he could try and think clearly. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was…

Oh yes, being sucked in through that portal. Ed laughed a little to himself, believing it to be a dream. Now where was Al…?

When he opened his eyes once more, he was face to face with a terrifying sight. Where he was, he was not sure, but what he saw was like a desert land. Buildings lay in rubble, signs of bullet holes, blood and other signs over conflict lay scattered.

He grew scared, unable to see his brother in front of him. He would be damned to hell if he was going to loose Al again, not after everything they'd been through together, everything they'd done to be together. They had sacrificed everything.

"Al? Al are you there?!" He called out frantically, looking around and jumping from the ground, ignoring the thumping from his head and the rest of his body, desperate to find his brother.

"I'm here," Al's familiar voice called weakly and Ed whipped around, breathing out a sigh of relief to find the boy sitting on the floor, a pained expression on his face as he massaged his head. "Brother… where… where are we?" the younger boy asked, looking around with a confused and slightly worried expression plastered on his face. Good question, Ed thought to himself as he dusted the dirt off of his clothes, looking around. "I don't know Al," He admitted sheepishly, taking a few paces forward, ignoring the sharp click coming from his left leg.

Resting his hand upon one of the broken walls, Ed frowned a little. This place, it felt so familiar to him, and he couldn't put his finger on why…

"Do you think… it worked?" Al asked hopefully, coming up behind up and scanning the area. "What happened?" He asked quietly to himself. He couldn't believe this was Amestris, he just couldn't. It was too heartbreaking to think about that. The place was in ruin, total destruction, this couldn't be Amestris. And if it was, how was everyone? All his friends… were they dead? Was anyone even _alive_? Al shuddered at the thought, they had seen so much death, he did not wish to see it again.

A fluttering piece of paper caught his attention and he walked over with a curious expression, plucking the paper from the rubble it was trapped under and turned it over to read the big bold print on the front. His eyes widened in horror.

"Brother, come read this," He said, looking back at Ed, who was still walking around. Obediently, Ed complied with Al's request and walked over, reading over his shoulder, feeling his stomach dip and his face pale as he did so.

There it was in big bold letters, the evidence they needed to prove they were home.

_Central Cryptic: The Ongoing War_

"War?" Ed repeated out loud, tugging the paper a little so he could read more in to it, but the text was small and smudged, and the paper had been ripped in most places. The only thing he could make out was "_Lior overtaken by Augustus Wolfgang, the Demenstra rebellion is slowly defeating our troops, Fuehrer Mu-_" The last part had been cut off. Ed smirked a little though, as he had a pretty good idea who they were talking about. "So that bastard finally did it huh?" He asked aloud, and Al glanced at him, a small smile on his face.

"Maybe they're still alive… somewhere," Al said hopefully, and Edward nodded his head. "There's no doubt he would have survived, the shitty Colonel was so hell bent on getting the title… like hell he's going to give it up to this… Wolfgang guy," He said with a determined nod of his head.

"But Brother, look at the date," Al said, dusting the title a little and reading the date off. "This was published almost half a year ago!" He said in surprise. Grunting a little, the older Elric took another look around where they were. "This damage looks like it was done a couple of months ago… let's just hope Wolfgang hasn't taken over all of Amestris just yet… or at least not have capture Mustang and the others,"

Al paused, still trying to read the paper, eyebrows furrowed lightly. "Do you think…?" He trailed off and glanced at his brother. Ed paused for a moment, looking to the sky with a smile on his face, a frown creased his forehead. "Yeah Al… there's no doubt about it" He said, glancing back at his brother and grinning.

"We're home,"

The kicking of rubble caught both boys by surprise, and their necks snapped in the direction of a certain mound of once building, gasping a little in surprise as they spotted a wolf, teeth bared and a low growl emitting from its large jaws. Defensively, Ed stood in front of Al, holding his right arm to get ready to block the great creature.

The growling became louder, and the wolf barked a little, leaping at the two boys. Ed pushed Al backwards with his left arm and fell back under the wolf's mighty size, gritting his teeth a little as it sank it's teeth in to his right arm, tearing at the material. It seemed to widen its eyes a little in surprise as what it thought would be flesh, turned out to be cold, hard and metallic. The feigned look of pain on Ed's face eased in to a grin as he tried to push off the beast. "They didn't call me Fullmetal Alchemist for nothing yah know," He said. The wolf seemed un-phased by this, and narrowed its eyes, tightening its jaw on his metal arm.

"Al! Run!" He said, tilting his head back to look at the boy, who had his hands raised in defence, his eyes narrowed on something else. The sound of gun clicks instantly informed Ed that they had been surrounded, possibly by the enemy. He didn't know, because he couldn't see, the wolf had him pinned to the ground.

"Good going Sirius," A harsh voice said, and Ed could hear footsteps, watching as a man in a grey and black uniform advanced to Al and grabbed his arms roughly, cuffing them behind his back. "Who are you? Are you part of the rebellion?!" Another asked. "Rebellion? What rebellion?" Ed asked as if he didn't know. "Are you a part of Mustang's rebellion against Demenstra?" The man asked again. Ed paused for a moment and exchanged a look with Al, honestly having not expected that. "W-we don't know what you're on about," Al said with a stiff nod to his brother, who nodded in reply.

There was a brief silence, and Edward shifted a little under the wolf, as it was getting rather uncomfortable. "Could you get this wolf off of me? It's really heavy," Ed said with a raised brow at the wolf, who growled. "Sirius," One of the men said and reluctantly, the wolf moved off of Ed. But no sooner as it had moved off, the two men Ed saw standing in front of him dragged him to his feet and cuffed him.

"What are your names?" One man asked as he roughly took Ed's flesh arm in his grip. Ed glanced at Al, wondering if they should say their real names or not. Al wondered also, and he shrugged his shoulders lightly, not sure what they should do. "Edward Elric, and this is my brother, Alphonse Elric," Ed said simply. He didn't know, maybe he'd be able to learn more about what was going on. The men seemed to stare at him disbelievingly, and one scoffed lightly. "Yeah right, the Elric brothers disappeared more than four years ago!" He said.

"You're telling us that you two boys are the famous Elric brothers? Don't make me laugh," He added, rolling his eyes and shoving Ed forward. "Come on, let's bring them back to Wolfgang, he can decide what to do with them," He said. Sirius snarled at the two blond boys and started off in one direction, the other men following suit, which meant Ed and Al had to follow too.

Really, it would be easy for Ed and Al to break from their shackles and defeat the enemy, but both boys were curious. They wanted to know what had happened, who had survived, and what was going on right about now. So they obediently followed, walking through the baron streets until they came to a building both of them recognized instantly. "Central Military Headquarters…" Ed breathed. One of the men looked back and cocked a brow. "Yes, that's what it was once," He said, shoving Ed forward a little more. "But now it is the base for Demenstra, and our new leaders,".

"Um… excuse me," Al piped up. "But… what exactly is Demenstra?" He asked curiously. All three men laughed. "It's the new nation," One said. "Made up by animal type alchemists who have lead us in to a new light," he continued. "They do not discriminate like the old leaders… and the world will be a much better place once we've destroyed the rebels and rebuild as the Nation of Demenstra,"

Ed cocked a brow a little. It seemed all a bit vague to him, and he didn't like it one bit. Al didn't seem to keen on the idea either.

Soon enough they were at the front of the building, when the doors swung open and out walked a women Ed and Al swore they recognized her. She had long wavy hair that reached her mid back, a fiery red colour, and her eyes were a pale gold colour, that reminded Ed and Al of a fox. She kind of… reminded them of that Homunculus, who had named herself Lust.

"Lieutenant Vixen!" All three men stood at attention and saluted the women, who sauntered down the steps and eyed them with her hand on her hip. "Oh the irony," Ed said with a roll of his eyes and Al had to bite his lip to suppress the snicker that threatened to escape. "We found these two wandering around the city, they claim to be the Elric brothers," One of the soldiers said, punching Ed lightly in the arm to shut up him.

"The Elric brothers?" Vixen repeated in a sultry voice, cocking a brow and narrowing her eyes on the boys before she walked to Ed and cupped his chin in her hand, lifting it up a little to look at him more. She smirked as Ed made a face in protest. "I thought you disappeared six years ago, Edward Elric of Resembool," She said. "But it seems you have returned… and what a time for you to return," She added in.

Sirius, who had been sitting obediently by Vixen, growled a little and got up, the hairs on the back of his neck raising. "Ah, that'll be your master now Sirius," Vixen said, letting go of Ed and petting the wolf on the head before she turned to face the double doors, where the sounds of footsteps echoed through the hall.

Ed and Al lifted their eyes to settle upon a man who had the biggest smirk on his face. "Edward and Alphonse Elric!" He said in a cheerful voice, holding his arms outstretched as if greeting old friends.

"Welcome home,"

_Author's Note:_

_Another cliff-hanger to keep you all waiting! Haha I bet you hate me now >D Anyway I would just like to say that I do not own Edward, Alphonse, Mustang or Amestris (or what's left of it) I do however own Sirius, Wolfgang, Vixen and any other characters that are not a part of the original Manga and/or Anime!_

Don't forget to rate and review!


	3. The Rescue

_Chapter 3: The Rescue_

"So you're Wolfman huh?" Ed asked with an amused expression on his face as he eyed the man standing in front of him. 'Wolfman' certainly lived up to his name, with a wolfish appearance, dark black hair that flicked up like ears, sideburns and a burly build (not as burly as Armstrong though, Ed noted). The man smirked, copper coloured eyes flashing menacingly. "Indeed I am, Edward Elric," He said smoothly, looking down at Sirius; who had trotted over to him to sit down, and then noticing Ed's ripped sleeve. "I see Sirius here gave you a bit of a taste, don't take it to heart, he's only doing as he's told," Wolfman said, petting the wolf on the head, who growled lowly.

Ed just made a face, but did not reply. Anyway, Wolfman seemed to be distracted by something else. He looked over to the guards and lifted a brow. "Where's Marcus?" He asked, turning his body to face the men, who seemed a little edgy. "He spotted one of the rebellion kids, and went to chase after him, Sir," The man who held Al said, gulping as Wolfman narrowed his eyes, drawing out his gun and aiming it at him.

BANG.

Al let out a yelp as the man behind him fell to the ground, dead, a bullet hole through his forehead. Ed looked from the man, to Al with a horrified expression, the gun shot ringing loudly in his ears.

"Marcus is a spy!" Wolfman barked angrily, putting his gun away. Ed and Al cast another slightly confused glance to each other before Ed was forced to turn around by his holder, and the other man grabbed Al. "Take the prisoners in to the cells and keep a close eye on them," Wolfman demanded, turning around to head up the steps. "Sirius! Vixen! I want Marcus found, dead or alive, he can't let Mustang know we have the Elric brothers," He said before disappearing.

Vixen saluted and Sirius barked, both of them taking off back in to the ruined city and Ed and Al were roughly pushed inside. The inside of the building was exactly how the brothers remembered it, and they could probably navigate themselves through the building, backwards and blindfolded.

As they were lead off, Al noticed something on the wall. It was a bounty list, and each picture of each person, Al recognized instantly, and his heart skipped inside his chest happily. So they _had_ survived? That was brilliant news! But he would have to walk until they were in their cell to tell Ed.

After a minute's walk, Ed and Al were shoved in to a dingy cell; both fell down from the force, and the fact that their hands were still bound together. "Brother," Al hissed, sitting up and scooting over the Ed, the grin on his face suppressed in to a smirk. Ed grunted a little as he pushed himself up in to a sitting position. "Huh? What are you smirking about?" He asked curiously, not seeing what was so funny about this situation. Al just grinned at his brother. "As we were walking through the hall, I saw they had bounty photos of people up, everyone's on there! They're all alive!" He said excitedly. "Hawkeye, Havoc, Fallman, everyone, they're all alive!"

Ed couldn't help but make a surprised yet happy face and he smiled at Al. "That's great Al, let's just hope you're right though," He said with a nod. Al smiled back, before something clicked in his head. "Ed, I saw _her_," That certainly caught his attention, as the blond male looked up with fearful eyes. He knew exactly who his brother meant when he said '_her_'. "What?" Ed asked; sitting himself up further, his eyes narrowed on his brother, who held his determined face. "I saw her, she's on the wanted list of the rebellion, with everyone else," He said. "She could still be alive, brother," Ed mused for a moment, looking off outside of their cell, at the guards who seemed to be paying them no mind. "I never doubted she was, Al," He stated matter-of-factly, whilst his brother just smirked and shrugging his shoulders.

"How long do you think we'll be here?" He asked curiously and it was Ed's turn to shrug. "Who knows Al? They'll probably force us to join their side… or use us as bribes for Mustang's surrender," He said, wriggling his wrists about to see if he could clap them together to perform alchemy. It had been a while since he'd used it, but he was pretty sure that he'd be able to get out.

However, before he was able to do anything, he noticed the ground beginning to shake as loose bits of gravel bobbed up and down. Glancing at Al, he cocked a brow before turning to the back of the cell, listening as the rumbling got closer and closer until…

BOOM

Suddenly the wall behind them exploded, sending bits of brick and rubble in all directions. Ed and Al were forced backwards by the blast and slammed in to the iron bars as dust and other debris tumbled all around them, covering them in dirt. Recovering from the impact, both boys looked up and watched as three figures emerged from the cloud of dust.

Once the dust had settled, their eyes widened in surprise as three familiar friends sat upon a machine that the boys recognized all too well. "Hawkeye! Armstrong! Winry!" The three boys cried happily as a woman with long blonde hair jumped from the machine and clicked her gun, treading through the rubble and checking the coast was clear before nodding at Armstrong, who got down and hauled the two brothers on to the back of the machine Winry had obviously built.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Rescuing you of course!"

-

**Author's Note:**

A short chapter I know, and I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've only just started to get back in the writing mood.

Yay, a rescue!

I don't own any of the FMA characters~

Don't forget to R&R!


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